Warren v. Dinter - 926 N.W.2d 370 (Minn. 2019)

Rule:

A duty arises between a physician and an identified third party when the physician provides medical advice and it is foreseeable that the third party will rely on that advice.

Facts:

There was an interaction between employees of two Minnesota health systems. A nurse practitioner in one system sought to have a patient admitted to the hospital of the other system. Admission was allegedly denied by a hospitalist. Three days later, the patient died. The plaintiff, patient's son, sued for malpractice. The district court and a divided panel of the court of appeals concluded that, as a matter of law, the hospitalist owed no duty of care to the patient because no physician-patient relationship had been established.

Issue:

Did the hospitalist's decision to deny a patient admission to a hospital constitute professional negligence?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

It was reasonable to conclude that the physician knew or should have known that his decision whether or not to admit a prospective patient, based on his own medical judgment, would be relied on by the nurse practitioner and her patient, and the physician also knew or should have known, that a breach of the applicable standard of care could result in serious harm.